Rotational strain relief with inline plug

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a tubular structure for rotationally interconnecting two bodies both mechanically and electrically. The tubular member is firmly attached to one member and extends through the other member. Electrical wires extend through the tubular member and out each end and through a central opening in the tube.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to optical character recognition equipment andmore particularly to a total data entry system utilized in a hand-heldoptical character reader.

PRIOR ART

A small hand-held optical character recognition unit capable of manualscanning of alphanumeric characters is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,947,817 and entitled "Hand Operated Optical Character RecognitionWand". An optical character recognition unit that can be used in aportable system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 505,931filed Sept. 13, 1974 and entitled "Character Recognition Unit". Thehand-held unit disclosed in the above patent application has beenutilized in a portable optical character recognition system which isdisclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 729,530 filed Oct. 4,1976, and entitled "Portable OCR Wand System". The portable systemdisclosed in the last mentioned patent application is light weight andmay be carried from one point to another for such purposes as takinginventory of merchandise or reading labels on stored goods in order todetermine the number of goods on hand. One disadvantage of the system isthat it is in the form of an attache case and the user must generallystop and place the case on a table or floor while using the wand, if itis desirable to enter data into the system manually by the keyboard ininstances where the data on the document or label is such that it cannotbe read by the optical character reader. Also, it is inconvenient toview the information which is displayed on the console display unless itis residing flat on a table or other surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a total data entry opticalcharacter recognition wand having both a keyboard and a display mountedon the optical character unit is used in conjunction with a portablecharacter recognition unit which is light weight and which may becarried over the shoulder in a fashion similar to a ladies purse orhandbag. The system is battery operated, extremely light weight and maybe moved from one point to another without difficulty. In the event theoptical character recognition cannot read the data on a label ordocument, the user simply inputs the information via the keyboard on thewand and verifies the correct input via the display that is also on thewand.

Another feature of the total data entry wand is that it is convenientfor use with either the right or left hand. The optical characterreading head of the wand is reversible in that it may be rotated 180°for convenient use of the right or left hand.

The basic reading, inputting and displaying features of the wand areentirely within the hand-held unit. The optically read or keyboardinputted information is transmitted to a light weight processing unit,and is there is processed and recorded on magnetic tape for future use.

When the information is properly read, it is recorded on the cassettetape for further processing at a later time. If an item to be read istorn and smudged or is in such a condition that the information cannotbe read by the optical unit, but is still humanreadable, the informationis entered into the system by the keyboard and this input is verifieddirectly by the display immediately above the keyboard.

Another feature of the invention is that when the wand is to be used forexample in the left hand, the read head of the wand can be rotated at a180°. This is accomplished by lifting the head and rotating it and thenallowing it to be seated against the top of the case in which thekeyboard and display reside. A strain relief, rotational connection ismade within the body of the reader so that the head may be rotatedthrough the 180° without undue wear or harm to the connection betweenthe display, keyboard and the rest of the electronics of the system.

The optical recognition unit includes illumination lamps in the noseportion thereof, which lamps are used to illuminate the material whichis to be read. Also, a turn on control is incorporated in the head whichturns off power to the basic electronic recognition system when thereader unit is not in use. It is necessary that an infrared signaltravel from an emitter-sensor unit to the document and back to theemitter-sensor unit. To accomplish this, a light pipe is utilized in thenose portion of the reader. This light pipe makes it possible to removethe nose portion to change the illumination lamps therein without havingelectrical connections between the nose portion and the rest of the readhead. Without the use of the light pipe, the emitter-sensor unit wouldhave to be in the nose portion thereby requiring electrical connectionsbetween the body and the nose portion of the reader.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

For a complete understanding of the present invention and the technicaladvance represented thereby, reference is now made to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich;

FIG. 1 illustrates a pictoral view of the total data entry hand-heldunit and the portable recognition unit;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the hand-held unit;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the basic electronics within the headportion of the hand-held unit;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the keyboard and display unit;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the hand-held unit illustrating therotational interconnection within the body of the hand-held unit;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the hand-held unit;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the rotational unit illustrating theinterconnection between the rotational unit, the portable recognitionunit and internal circuitry of the hand-held unit;

FIG. 8 is a pictoral view of the light pipe used to transmit the cotnrolsignal to and from the writ document;

FIGS. 9a and 9b are top and side views of the light pipe of FIG. 8.

In FIG. 1 is illustrated one embodiment of a total data entry opticalcharacter recognition wand and data entry unit according to the presentinvention. The hand-held unit is attached to the recognition electronicsunit 2 by cable 3. The unit includes a provision for a magnetic tapecassette at 4. Switches 5 and 6 are used to turn the switch on and tocontrol other functions of the system. The unit 2 may be provided with astrap connected to connectors 7, one of which is illustrated.

A more detailed drawing of the hand-held unit 1 is shown in FIG. 2. Theunit consists of the read head 13 having a nose portion 14 which isattached by the rotating screw 15. Data is entered on keyboard 11 bykeys 16. Information input into the system is displayed on the display12. When the unit is in the process of reading or processing data, thedisplay light 17 turns on showing that the system is busy.

The read head electronics 13 is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 3.The read head includes a 12 by 38 self scanning electronic array ontowhich is focused, by the lens, information read from the media which maybe in the form of a document, or any printed material such as pricetags, labels, etc. Lamps DS1 and DS2 illuminate the document forreading. In order to conserve energy and to turn off the power to mostof the system while the read head is not actually reading a document, acontrol circuit is used. The emitter-sensor for the control circuit isillustrated at 19. An infrared signal is emitted from the unit 19,transmitted through the light pipe 18 to the document and reflected backthrough light pipe to the unit 19 if a document is being read. However,if no document is in the immediate vicinity of the read head, theinfrared signal is not reflected, and the unit is not turned on. Such acontrol system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 729,531filed Oct. 4, 1976.

During a read cycle, the array is continually scanned and driven by thecell clock driver and the row clock driver through the x and yregisters. To synchronize the system, an end of frame signal and an endof line signal goes into a buffer sync logic unit and is sent back tothe recognition electronic unit. The video output from the array is alsosent back to the recognition unit. The status lamp LED 17 is on when thesystem is in use and data is being processed. The transmit signal lineand the receive signal lines are connected to the transmit-receive unit19 in order to transmit signals and receive reflections thereof to tellthe unit to turn on when a document is being read or comes within thevicinity of the nose of the read unit.

The keyboard and display circuitry is illustrated in block form in FIG.4. A 4 bit microprocessor is used to take the information keyed in fromthe keyboard and relay it back to the recognition unit electronics andin turn relay to the display the information which has been entered intothe keyboard, read by the read head and processed by the recognitionunit. Five lines are needed to go into the keyboard display unit.Battery power, ground and three lines which communicate between the 4bit microprocessor and the electronics in the recognition unit.

The display and keyboard are standard available units which are commonlyused in, for example, hand-held calculation. The four bit microprocessormay be, for example, a Texas Instruments TMS 1200 microprocessor chip.

Communication between the keyboard and display and the recognition unit2 is accomplished with a serial message format. Recognition unit 2includes a Fairchild F-8 microprocessor as disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 729,530, field Oct. 4, l976. The transfer of datafrom the recognition unit to the Keyboard Display Unit is initiated byraising the data lines to a logic "one". The TMS 1200 located in theKeyboard Display Unit generates eight clock pulses which have a 6millisecond period to strobe data from the recognition unit to theKeyboard Display Unit. Table 1 list the message codes which aretransmitted to the TMS 1200.

                  Table 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        Serial Message Format F-8 to TMS 1200                                         Character/Function MSB        LSB                                             ______________________________________                                        0                  1000       0000                                            1                  1000       0001                                            2                  1000       0010                                            3                  1000       0011                                            4                  1000       0100                                            5                  1000       0101                                            6                  1000       0110                                            7                  1000       0111                                            8                  1000       1000                                            9                  1000       1001                                            --                 1000       1010                                            A                  1000       1011                                            F                  1000       1100                                            E                  1000       1101                                            C                  1000       1110                                             (Blank)           1000       1111                                             End of Message    1001       XXXX                                             Recall 1          1010       XXXX                                             Recall 2          1010       XXXX                                            Hold Message in TMS 1200                                                                         1100       1111                                            Release Hold       1100       0000                                            Force Attn Key     1101       1111                                            Release "Attn" Key Force                                                                         1101       0000                                            Blink Display      1110       XXXX                                            Clear Display      1111       XXXX                                            X=Don't Care                                                                  ______________________________________                                    

Key stroke data is transmitted in an interrupt mode to the recognitionunit with the MSB (most significant bit) being transmitted first. The"ATTN" key code is all "ones" and is used to "wakeup" the system duringpower-save cycles. The Interrupt Strobe initiates a power ON cycle whichmaintains power for two seconds after the last keystroke. Table 2 listthe various key codes which are transmitted to the recognition unit.

                  Table 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        Serial Message Format From TMS 1200 to F-8                                    Key Number   MSB           LSB                                                ______________________________________                                        1            0000          0000                                               2            0000          0001                                               3            0000          0010                                               4            0000          0011                                               5            0000          0100                                               6            0000          0101                                               7            0000          0110                                               8            0000          0111                                               9            0000          1000                                               10           0000          1001                                               11           0000          1010                                               12           0000          1011                                               13           0000          1100                                               14           0000          1101                                               15           0000          1110                                               ATTN         1111          1111                                               2nd Level    1111          1110                                               3rd Level    1111          1101                                               ______________________________________                                    

To provide a universal hand-held unit which can be operated with eitherhand, the read head 13 can be rotated 180° so that it will point ineither direction, left as shown in FIG. 5 or right (not illustrated). Inorder to provide a flexible connection between the keyboard display unitand the rotational shaft 21 through which the cable 3 passes tointerconnect the read head with the recognition unit, it is necessarythat the interconnection between the rotational unit be flexible tosurvive the rotation of 180°. This is accomplished by having a plug 22connected to a receptacle 28 (FIG. 7) on the rotational shaft in therecessed portion thereof. Wires 23 are connected to the plug 22, loopedaround the rotational shaft and are connected with terminals on thecircuit board on which the keyboard and display components are mounted.Five wires are required for the battery connection, (positive andground) and the three wire input/output and clock data lines which areused to communicate between the keyboard display and the recognitionunit 2. On the uppermost portion of shaft 21 is spring 24 which holdsthe read head 13 in contact with the top portion of the body 20. Thelower end of spring 24 rests against and is confined by thecircumferential ridge 35 on shaft 21. In order to rotate the read head,the read head is pulled away from the body 20 and rotated. Once therotation is complete spring 24 will pull the read head back into placeand hold it against the body 20. Accidental rotation of the read head isprevented by the display housing which extends up against one side ofthe read head when the read head is in its lower position. The read headmust be pulled above the display before it can be rotated.

A more detailed view of the rotational unit is illustrated in FIG. 7wherein the plug 22 is shown to mate with the connector 28 in recess 30.The spring 24, not illustrated (see FIG. 5), resides around the shaft at25, the lead wires 27 extend up into the read head are interconnected tothe electronics therein and extend out the other end for connecting withthe recognition unit 2 through the cable 3 and plug 26.

It is possible that the cable 3 could be replaced with areceive/transmit unit in the hand-held unit and the recognition controlunit. Small data relay transmit/receive units are well known and neednot be covered in detail.

A more detailed view of the light pipe used in conjunction with turnon/off circuit is illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a pictoralview of the light pipe and FIGS. 9a and 9b are side and top views.

Normally in light pipes of this nature, multifiber optical bundles areused. However, such a light pipe does not lend itself to high volume lowcost production. The light pipe illustrated is made by injection moldingwith acrylic plastic. The light pipe is a homogeneous material asopposed to individual glass fibers. In order to impart a mirror finishto the sides of the light pipe the mold has a 16 microinch finish orbetter. One advantage of this type of light pipe is that only oneinexpensive part is needed to perform the function.

The surfaces of the light pipe are highly polished providing essentiallytotal internal reflection. Therefore, light energy in the pipe isconducted from input to output with relatively low loss. Referring toFIGS. 3 and 5, energy from the emitter/receiver sensor 19 is conductedthrough the light pipe to the document and reflected energy istransmitted back through the light pipe to the sensor. The sensor ismounted on the main read head frame while the light pipe is in the nosecone. The pipe permits removal of the nose without any electricalconnection between the nose and the main read head body. The pipe may beused with any non coherent light where the energy source or receiver isremotely located.

In order to mount the light pipe without the exterior walls coming intocontact with a surface which may interfere with the internalreflectivity of wall, mounts 29 are formed on the sides of the lightpipe and are used to prevent undesirable contact of the walls withsurrounding structures.

The above described invention relates to a total data entry hand-heldunit which optically reads data. When the data cannot be read optically,the same unit having a keyboard therein is used to encode data into thesystem. The encoded data is displayed for verification.

In order to provide for either left hand or right hand use of the unit,the read head may be rotated through 180° so that it points either tothe right or left of the keyboard display body. A rotational strainrelief unit is provided within the body to permit internal connectionswith the keyboard and display without damaging the interconnections.

Having described the invention in connection with certain specificembodiments it is to be understood that further modifications may nowsuggest themselves to those skilled in the art and is intended to coversuch modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An interconnect device for mechanically andelectrically joining two bodies in a rotational relationship, comprisinga tubular member secured to one of said bodies and extending through theother of said bodies, a bias member cooperating with said tubular memberto hold said bodies in an abutting relationship and electrical wiresextend through said tubular member into each of said bodies in a mannerto permit rotation of one of said bodies in relation to the other. 2.The device according to claim 1 wherein the tubular member has a regionconfined thereon by at least one circumferential ridge and said ridgeconfines one end of said bias member.
 3. The device according to claim 1wherein the bias member is a spring coiled around the tubular member. 4.The device according to claim 1 wherein said tubular member has acentral circumferential portion removed to accommodate the mounting ofan electrical connector therein.
 5. The device according to claim 4wherein said connector has a plurality of electrical wires connectedthereto which are looped around the tubular member and are secured toelectrical terminals.
 6. A device for electrically and mechanicallyinterconnecting two bodies comprising a tubular member, a bias memberand a plurality of electric conductors, said tubular member rigidlyfixed to one of said bodies and extending through the other of saidbodies, said bias member positioned around said tubular member andholding said bodies in an abutting relation to one another, and saidelectric conductors extending from two ends of said tubular member andfrom a central portion of said tubular member.
 7. The device accordingto claim 6, wherein the tubular member extends through the other of saidbodies in a slidable relationship therewith.